[T]rain company TransPennine Express (TPE) have given a major upgrade to their current fleet of trains, and has released a time-lapse video to show the magic at work.
Each three carriage, Class 185 train is being totally transformed with new seating, carpets, larger tables (perfect for laptops), LED lighting and refitted toilets. Plug and USB sockets are also being fitted at every pair of seats, in both standard and first class, meaning customers can work and play without worrying about running out of juice.
Class 185 Refurbishment Timelapse from TransPennine Express on Vimeo.
All this is on top of TPE’s new fast, free Wi-Fi and ‘Exstream’, an on-board entertainment system featuring a fantastic range of blockbuster films, hit TV shows, newspapers and magazines. Both the Wi-Fi and ‘Exstream’ were launched last week and are now available on the refurbished trains across the North of England and into Scotland.
To date, five trains have been refurbished, and going forward all 51 of the fleet are being upgraded as part of a phased progamme, with one new train being upgraded every week. The upgrade is being carried out in York by Siemens and financed by Eversholt Rail.
TPE’s vision is to ‘take the North further’, and to help achieve this vision the company decided to work with local suppliers for the refurbishment. These include Camira Fabrics, based near Huddersfield, who have made the standard class seat covers, Petards in Gateshead, who have supplied the new CCTV, and Diamond Seating in Rotherham who have provided seat covers.
The time-lapse video, which has been created by time-lapse production company Site-Eye, can be found at: https://vimeo.com/238904680
Starting from 2018, TPE will also be introducing 44 brand new, state-of-the-art trains as part of a £500million investment, which will mean an extra 13 million seats a year for customers by 2020.
